1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to intercoolers for internal combustion engines, and in particular to novel means for providing improved cooling of air flowing through such an intercooler prior to intake by an internal combustion engine.
2. Related Art
Intercoolers are known in the art for cooling air before it enters a supercharged engine. The effect of cooling the air is to prevent pre-ignition or knocking and to make it possible to utilize higher boost pressure and higher compression. Intercoolers are so-named because they are placed in-between the supercharger and the engine.
Conventional intercoolers utilize air or water as the cooling medium. In water-cooled intercoolers, it is known to cool the water with ice. However, even such cooling of the cooling medium is insufficient; because the supercharger raises the temperature of the air dramatically, the air entering the engine is typically still significantly warmer than the ambient temperature.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved intercooler for an internal combustion engine.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an intercooler which is capable of cooling engine intake air to a lower temperature than those of the prior art.
It is yet a further object of the invention to provide an intercooler which permits higher boost pressures.
It is yet a further object of the invention to provide an intercooler which permits higher engine compression ratios.
In a preferred embodiment, the invention provides an intercooler system which uses an air conditioner evaporator coil or other mechanical refrigeration device to cool air flowing therethrough prior to intake of the air by an internal combustion engine. The invention thereby reduces the temperature of the air entering the engine well beyond the temperature reduction provided by a conventional intercooler. The invention may be used to chill the air to a point cooler than ambient temperature or even down to below freezing. In some embodiments, a conventional intercooler may be used to partially cool the air before it enters the intercooler of the invention. In other embodiments, the intercooler may be used in combination with a novel engine-driven supercharger having a variable-speed drive. The engine-driven supercharger of the invention may alternatively be used independently of the disclosed intercooler.